PMDC says it is being framed in a ‘false’ FIR

MNAs claim a forged notification was sent regarding executive committee members.

KARACHI: A press conference was held by the Pakistan Medical Dental Council (PMDC) at the Pearl Continental Hotel on Tuesday to address the allegations leveled against them.

According to PMDC president Prof Masood Hameed, an FIR has been lodged against PMDC executive committee members by two Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNAs, Nasir Khan Khattak and Dr Muhammad Azhar Khan Jadoon, who are members of the National Assembly Committee for Health Services, alleging that executive committee members had been elected unfairly through a forged notification.

Prof Hameed, explaining the reason behind the FIR, said that that the PMDC had approved a notification regarding the members elected in its executive committee, which was then sent on a CD to the Printing Corporation of Pakistan (PCP). They then presented this CD to the senate under part six of the Constitution of Pakistan, which covers autonomous body notifications. They said they were told by the senate chairman that, while the issue does come under the section, they wanted the health ministry to notify them as well.

However, Prof Hameed claimed that the PMDC had received an altered CD from the PCP and it was on the basis of the alterations that an FIR was lodged against the organisation.

The PMDC then filed a case with the Islamabad High Court, stating that the allegations made against them are false and are being made to smear the PMDC. However, the case is still pending at the high court.

“If there is an issue between the PCP and the authorities, then a committee should be made to solve this issue,” stated Prof Hameed. “By lodging an FIR they are demoralising people.”

“There is a conflict of interest if the members of the committee own medical colleges,” said PMDC executive committee member Dr Khurshid Ahmed Nasim. “They should either honourably resign from the committee or give up those colleges.”

PMDC registrar Dr Raja Amjad claimed the members of the executive committee were being continually harassed via text messages. “This is demoralising for our students and for our profession as a whole,” he stated.

Dr Amjad then went on to say that a meeting has been called on the February 6 by the National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination standing committee to address this issue but due to the FIR, the members of the executive committee will be prevented from attending. He claimed that the FIR was purposely lodged in Islamabad, rather than in Karachi, so as to prevent them from having their say at the meeting.

SHC grants bail to former PMDC president

The Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar granted protective bail till February 18 to adviser to the prime minister Dr Asim Hussain and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s (PMDC) former president Prof Masood Hameed, who are facing charges of preparing fake notifications regarding council member elections.

Islamabad’s secretariat police station had lodged an FIR on the complaint of MNA Nasir Khattak, who said the PMDC officials are allegedly involved in fraud as they had prepared a fake document and used it to illegally occupy the public office. Dr Asim Hussain and Prof Masood had approached the SHC, requesting a 15-day protective bail. Both applicants denied the allegations.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2014.